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A slum landlord who forced two pensioners to live in dangerous conditions, which included collapsed ceilings in the bedroom and kitchen, has been prosecuted.

Sukhbir Singh Birak, 37, was fined £1,250 after Newham Council inspectors found the elderly couple had been living for over seven months with a deficient heating system, a broken window, and an electric shower as the only source of hot water.

The landlord had ignored earlier requests from the council to rectify the problems at the three-bedroom terrace on Chester Road in Forest Gate.

Birak, of Kensington Gardens, Ilford, admitted failing to comply with an Improvement Notice at Thames Magistrates' Court earlier this month.

On top of his fine, he was also ordered to pay costs of £370 and a Victim Surcharge of £15.

Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: "We want to ensure that private sector rented properties are well managed and meet a good standard. We also want to deal with the crime and anti-social behaviour that is sometimes associated with bad private sector rented housing.

"One bad house can drag down a whole street and we are doing this for the community.

"There are good landlords in Newham and we want to work with them. Unfortunately there are also some unscrupulous ones - and these are the ones we are targeting.

"We will never accept private sector tenants being directly exploited by landlords who force them to live in dangerous and unacceptable conditions. Good landlords have nothing to fear. For the bad ones, we have a clear message: clean up your act or pay the price."